POS & integrations
Which POS systems support cannabis payments?
Short answer
Most dedicated cannabis point-of-sale platforms — the systems built for licensed retail with state track-and-trace reporting — support at least one integrated electronic payment method, usually through partner integrations rather than their own acquiring. What matters is not whether a POS 'supports payments' in general, but whether your specific payment method, provider and hardware are certified for your POS version and state.
- Written by
- Cannabis Pay Hub editorial team
- Reviewed
- Reviewed by a Cannabis Pay Hub payments specialist
- Published
- Updated
The fuller explanation
Integration depth varies widely. A semi-integrated setup where the terminal handles the payment and returns a result to the POS is common and keeps card data out of the POS. A fully integrated setup posts the payment against the order automatically. A manual setup, where staff key the amount into a separate device, works but creates reconciliation errors and slows lanes.
Before committing, confirm certification in writing: the POS product and version, the payment provider, the terminal model, the transaction types supported (sale, refund, partial approval, tips), and how refunds and voids behave. Ask what happens during an outage, and how end-of-day reconciliation matches the POS report to the settlement report.
Questions to ask before choosing an integration
- Is the integration certified for our exact POS version, and who maintains it?
- Which transaction types are supported: refunds, partial approvals, voids, tips, split payments?
- How are payments reconciled against the POS at end of day, and where do variances show?
- What is the offline behaviour when connectivity drops mid-transaction?
- How does the integration handle state track-and-trace reporting requirements?
- Who provides support when the POS vendor and payment provider disagree on the cause?
Integration models compared
- Semi-integrated: terminal owns card data, POS receives the result — lower PCI scope, most common.
- Fully integrated: payment posts to the order automatically — fastest lanes, deeper dependency.
- Standalone: separate terminal, manual entry — flexible, but error-prone at volume.
Important caveats
- We do not publish claimed compatibility lists for third-party software; verify certification directly with both vendors.
- An integration that works in one state may be unavailable in another due to programme or provider limits.
- POS vendor partnerships change; confirm current status rather than relying on old documentation.
Other ways people ask this
These phrasings share the same answer, so they live on this page rather than on duplicate URLs.
- Cannabis POS payment integrations
- Does my dispensary POS work with payments?
- Compliant cannabis point of sale systems
Follow-up questions
- Do I have to change POS to change payment provider?
- Often not. Many providers integrate with the major cannabis POS platforms, though certification for your version should be confirmed first.
- What is a semi-integrated payment setup?
- The payment terminal captures and encrypts card data itself and returns only the result to the POS, which reduces the store's PCI scope.
- Does the POS handle state reporting automatically?
- Cannabis-specific POS platforms generally report sales to the state track-and-trace system; payments data is separate and reconciled alongside it.
Sources
- Metrc state track-and-trace system documentation
Metrc · checked
- PCI DSS v4.x document library
PCI Security Standards Council · checked
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